Westerners Mount Big Comback Win
June 14, 2011 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Danbury Westerners News Release
Hooray for Horan was what the crowd at Rogers Park was cheering yesterday after Danbury Westerner and Virginia Tech Hokie Tyler Horan belted a three-run eighth inning homer to eventually defeat the Vermont Mountaineers and improve Danbury ¬â¢s record to 2-0.
Early on the game seemed to be a pitcher ¬â¢s duel as Vermont ¬â¢s starter, Fred Shepard of Amherst College, was perfect through six frames. The Westerners ¬â¢ Mike Ford of Princeton University was also strong as he managed to hold the Mountaineers scoreless through five while getting himself in and out of trouble frequently. But Vermont was eventually able to break through, scoring one run in the sixth inning and adding two more in the seventh.
However, in the bottom of the seventh the Westerners were finally able to get to Shepard. Tanner Krietemeier provided the first baserunner of the game by taking a walk. Horan would later say about Shepard, ¬ÅAfter the walk he started to lose it a little. ¬Â The Westerners were then able to capitalize as right-fielder Andrew Garner of Tulane University came up with the first hit of the game to score Krietemeier, bring the Westerners within two runs at 3-1. The hit also forced the Mountaineers to go to the bullpen.
The big blow came in the bottom of the eighth as Horan came in to pinch hit with two runners on and two outs. Head Coach Jamie Shevchik wanted to match Vermont ¬â¢s righty with his own power hitting lefty. The move worked brilliantly as Horan hit a fastball over the short fence in right-field that left no doubt as soon as the ball touched wood. Horan, whose head coach at Virginia Tech said, ¬ÅHe is one of the strongest players ever to play at Virginia Tech, ¬Â had been watching the pitcher ¬â¢s duel and was anxious to get a chance to win the game.
¬ÅIt ¬â¢s frustrating, but you have to know it ¬â¢s a long game and you have to know your teammates are going to pick you up, ¬Â said Horan. ¬ÅCoach Shevchik told me to get ready and I got up feeling good. ¬Â
Horan was the hero with the home run, but the Westerners ¬â¢ strong defense throughout kept the deficit manageable and allowed Danbury to weather the storm of Shepard ¬â¢s strong pitching performance. In the third inning left-fielder Kyle Richardson threw a perfect strike to catcher Alex Ramsay of the University of Maryland to gun down a Vermont runner at the plate. The play was made with two outs and kept the Mountaineers scoreless. In the next frame Danbury turned a crucial double play after Mike Ford had loaded the bases with no outs and got a big strikeout. Again, the Westerners managed to keep the game scoreless. But the most important defensive play of the night was in the seventh inning when Garner made a game-saving diving catch in the right-field gap to end the inning and prevent Vermont from extending the three-run lead.
Walter Wijas from the University of Kentucky was able to close out the game to pick up the save and to give the win to Chris Williams of the University of Nebraska. Krietemeier was moved to the leadoff spot and produced for the second game in a row as he got on base twice and scored both times.
Danbury looks to continue their winning ways on Thursday, June 16, as they travel to take on the Keene Swamp Bats in the first road contest of the season. The Westerners come back to Danbury on June 22 to take on the New Bedford Bay Sox.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 14, 2011
- Mystic Schooners Set to Open at Home - Mystic Schooners
- Montville drives in four runs, Mainers defeat Swamp Bats 9-4 - Keene Swamp Bats
- Pair of Navigators Win Player, Pitcher of the Week - NECBL
- Westerners Mount Big Comback Win - Danbury Westerners
- Blue Sox Best Cats in Extras - North Adams SteepleCats
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